So I am pretty much done with the motor work on my car. At least, until I redo the internals. So now I am working on the suspension.

I am pretty set on some Progress CS-II coilovers. Not entirely sure on the spring rate yet. Thinking 350/350 and I may go stiffer.

After the spring/damper changes, I am looking to do some chassis stiffening. Front/rear sway bars, strut bars, ect. Not really sure what to tackle first. It's a 1989 STD hatch, so I am unsure if it has sway bar holes or not. I will have to get down and look at the rear LCA.

I am just looking for some suggestions, aside from a full cage, that will help stiffen the chassis. The goal for the car is straight line racing, mostly. I have not done any auto-x in it.

 

350/350 is kinda lame, but thats just personal preference. I find it easier to get the rear end around with stiffer rear and a softer front. Sway bars should be your first priority if you dont have any though, you might find the front unnecessary depending on how you drive.

 

Hey, I'm here for opinions! If you want to call them lame, go for it. I don't mind. But give me another reccomendation.

I believe my car has a weak front end sway bar. No rear and no way to mount it to the stock LCAs. So I may swap LCA/buy aftermarket ones. And get a tie bar/rear sway bar.

I will be honest. My driving style is very much that of an old man. I drive slow. I shift at 3k. I do the speed limit. I downshift and coast around corners. The only time I drive fast is while tuning or at the track. Well, and the on ramp to the high way.

 

Here is my thread about the springs in the correct subforum. I was just making my original 350/350 based on the websites reccomendations.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes-54/progress-cs-ii-coilover-spring-rate-3191441/

 

Rear sway you can get LCAs from a different car that has a sway.
The chassis already will have the locations for the brackets, but those may or may not have the threaded holes. If there are not threads, then you have to cut an access hole through your trunk and put a nut on the back of the bracket screws.
Aftermarket sways are available that do not use the stock locations so the trunk can be left alone.

After doing coilovers, upper strut bars, and a full poly bushing set, I really found my best upgrade in the lower front tie bar (I went with non-adjustable Cusco bars). I had a nice top one, but once I added the lower one (again, Cusco), it boxed the whole thing in and I really knew it was doing work. Rear lower tie bar is pointless on the 88~91 chassis as the rear subframe is substantially stiffer than the 92+ that the lower rear tie bar originated from.

Stock front sway and CRX rear sway were good enough for a DD with spirited street and occasional track use. For more track use, shock and sprint rates would be much stiffer and, depending on how flat the car could be held in corners, then look for bigger sways to tune it flat.
* I do not believe sways should come before shock/springs. Sway, IMO, are useful to tune out what the shock/spring are unable to keep up with.

 

lol, I usually shift from first to fifth when im commuting. If you dont lower too much you can get away with a stiffer spring and a softer setting on your struts.

but 350 is a good balance for comfort. I just opt for stiffer springs and turn the dampening up when needed.

 

350/250 is more typical for a street upgrade. The back shouldn't be the same rate because it has a lot less weight to keep suspended.
Stock is 250/150 (something like that).
Here's an old sticky for different manufacture rates
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/88-91-crx-spring-rates-%2Asticky%2A-1914404/

Nobody offers a matched 350/350 set... obviously a reason.


Just stiffening up the setting on a shock is not even close to the same as changing the rate on a spring.
In basic potato language; The spring is what regulates how much the car dips and squats when you hit a bump and also how much it leans when you turn. The shock dampers the speed at which the wheel lifts and returns to the ground after you hit the bump. Basically giving some control on how fast the spring reacts/oscillates.

Incorrectly mixing shocks and springs is a bad idea. The shock has internal valving that, if not matched correctly to a spring, will give some bad results. Bouncy rides and blown shocks to name a few.

 

The progress cs-II coilovers offer a matched set on the website I thought. Anyways. Isn't a stiffer rear better for drag applications? I realize it carries less weight though. Also. Their web site mentions 220/110 I think. Or maybe I just read that somewhere.

No need to explain shocks and spring rates to me. The damper keeps the car from bouncing as far as I'm concerned. I'm also going with a decent coilover to avoid having issues.

 

Maybe for drag, but is that what you are setting up for?
If so, then probably no need to worry much about the rear sway bar at all and probably disregard most everything in my previous posts

 

Its mostly for drag. I have never done auto-x or anything like that. But I do drive it around town and I'd like a rear sway bar. I'll probably just go with a SI rear sway bar with matching LCAs.

 

i have the progress 350/500 setup and it works great for the track and on the street.

 

Thanks for the input. Ever have issues with the back end?

 

if it's setup more for drag racing then go with the 350f/500r that progress sells for their cs2's. less squat.

that set up is more for a autox setup, same with the 350/350, but you should be fine if you don't mind that you can't adjust your shocks.

 

cage it

 

I have 11k front and 16k rear with an st rear bar on my autox EF hatch.

I'm going to try a different setup soon:
1000 lb front and 500 lb rear

...but I run 275f, 205r.

And no cage! That adds weight!

But if you're drag mostly, then get something like rear 1200 lb springs and soft like 300 lb up front, with no front bar.
And run sphericals up front to help you hook up.
Just call kingpin machine and they'll set you up.

 

18k front 9k rear? why not just swap springs and see how that goes first?

 

Full cage life. Critical for daily driving.

 

Full cage on a sometimes street driven car.
Take pics while you drive around with your helmet on so you don't explode your head on a bar in case you are in an accident.

 

I don't mind the non-adjustable. But that is the reason I am trying to get opinons first. I have no experience with coilovers and spring rates.

I don't think I'll be caging this car. That is a lot of weight and it isn't required because my car isn't that fast.

I do drive it on the street though. This isn't a purpose built drag car. That's just the racing I plan on doing with it though. I do run sphericals up front. Got a quality traction bar. Had to get it for some clearance.

Yeah... I doubt I will put a cage in it. And I will not be the guy driving a car to 7-11 with a helmet on.

 

Never had a problem with the back. Only when I had the swaybar to stiff.

 

swaybars dont stiffen the chassis.

 

I do plan on using a stock SI sway bar most likely.

I thought sway bars were basically anti-roll oriented. The stiffer springs lessen body roll. And cages/strut bars stiffen/reinforce the chassis.

I am just trying to tackle my suspension. It's not a daily driven car, but it is driven often. Not every day, but more than once a week probably. Mostly just to work and back if my wife needs my commuter car for something.

 

stiffer springs = smaller to no sway bar
softer springs = bigger sway bar

all in how you want the car to act reall

 

I am just going to call Progress and see what they suggest. I will give them what I want and I'm sure they can make an educated guess.

 

interesting read, definitely following